Electro-static discharge (ESD) has been a problem in manufacturing thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) array substrates. ESD may cause a lower product yield, an increased cost, a decreased capacity, and can affect the quality of the liquid crystal display devices.
In the fabricating process of a liquid crystal panel, especially in some processes performed in a plasma environment, such as vacuum film formation and dry etching, static charge can be produced and accumulated on glass surfaces of the array substrate due to the voltage differences between adjacent signal lines. In the fabricating process of the array substrate, tools such as a mobile robot support column and/or a roller may be used to support the array substrate or to transfer the array substrate between different processes. A contact area between a tool, e.g., the mobile robot support column or the roller, and array substrate can be small. A large amount of electrostatic charge accumulated on the array substrate may form an electrostatic gathering point at the contact area between the array substrate and the tool, e.g., the mobile robot support column or the roller, which may cause an electrostatic breakdown and result in a damage to the array substrate.